Definite and indefinite article accuracy in learner English: A multifactorial analysis

IF 4.2 1区 文学 Q1 LINGUISTICS
Kateryna Derkach, Theodora Alexopoulou
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

We present a learner corpus-based study of English article use (“a”/“the”/Ø) by L2 learners with four typologically distinct first languages (L1s): German and Brazilian Portuguese (both have articles), Chinese and Russian (no articles). We investigate several semantic and morphosyntactic factors—for example, specificity, prenominal modification that can affect article use. Our analysis of 660 written scripts from the Education First Cambridge Open Database confirms the lower overall accuracy of learners with no-article L1s. Our main finding is the differential effect of specificity on definite and indefinite articles: learners tend to associate specificity with “a,” which implies article omission with nonspecific indefinite singulars and overuse of “a” with specific indefinite mass nouns. Prenominal modifiers further contribute to perceived specificity, leading to article overuse with modified indefinite mass nouns. However, in definite contexts, prenominal modifiers are associated with increased article omission.
英语学习者定冠词和不定冠词准确性的多因素分析
我们提出了一项基于学习者语料库的研究,研究了四种类型不同的第一语言(L1):德语和巴西葡萄牙语(都有文章)、汉语和俄语(没有文章)的二语学习者的英语文章使用情况。我们研究了几个语义和形态句法因素,例如,特异性、名词前修饰,这些因素会影响冠词的使用。我们对剑桥教育第一开放数据库中660篇书面脚本的分析证实,没有文章L1的学习者总体准确性较低。我们的主要发现是特异性对定冠词和不定冠词的不同影响:学习者倾向于将特异性与“a”联系起来,这意味着用非特定不定单数省略冠词,用特定不定质量名词过度使用“a”。前置修饰语进一步促进了感知的特异性,导致修饰的不定质量名词的冠词过度使用。然而,在特定的语境中,前置修饰语与冠词省略的增加有关。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
8.00
自引率
9.80%
发文量
52
期刊介绍: Studies in Second Language Acquisition is a refereed journal of international scope devoted to the scientific discussion of acquisition or use of non-native and heritage languages. Each volume (five issues) contains research articles of either a quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-methods nature in addition to essays on current theoretical matters. Other rubrics include shorter articles such as Replication Studies, Critical Commentaries, and Research Reports.
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